Orientation 2011

Monday, August 15th, 2011 // Paperhouse

Welcome to Paperhouse. In this corner of the Tartan’s Pillbox, the poetic musical neurosis of the fine folks that staff WRCT reigns supreme.

In light of this being the Orientation issue, I’d like to take this moment to introduce you to your new favorite radio station and student organization. For starters, my name is Juan Fernandez and I am the current General Manager at WRCT Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon’s student-run radio station.I’m guessing that everyone on campus is competing for your attention, so I’ll try not to bombard you with too much information. Just know that you’ve got a place with us here at WRCT Pittsburgh.

WRCT, known as Radio Carnegie Tech in the times of old, celebrates more than 60 years of radio broadcasting. As a free-form radio broadcaster, we are committed to providing quality alternatives to the mainstream commercial programming that dominates the radio. Our DJs, Public Affairs hosts, and other staff members are not only Carnegie Mellon students, staff, and faculty, but also community members from the Pittsburgh area, some of whom have more than 30 years of radio broadcasting experience under their belts. We pride ourselves in our substantively diverse programming. At WRCT every DJ has the freedom to play the music of his or her choosing. So whether you’re interested in West African rock, kitchen sink recordings, local independent news programming or Latin American culture, WRCT has a program for you.

We are physically located in the basement of the University Center, on the same hallway as the CMU Bookstore and the Post Office. If you want to chat us up and learn more about what we do, we’ll be out on the Cut playing music during the beginning of the school year. Stop by and introduce yourself. We’d love to meet you and take you in as part of the radio family.

If radio is the essence that makes your little heart go pitter pat, you’re definitely going to want to become a member of the station. To learn about the membership process, email training@wrct.org.

You should know that every week on we get together to give the newest albums a good listen. These weekly listening sessions are called “Music Staffs”. These listening sessions are how we determine what music makes it’s way into our record library and onto our airwaves. I’d like to personally extend an invitation out to you to join us during these listening sessions. Should you take me up on my offer you can find me and the rest of the crew at WRCT from 5 PM until 7 PM every Thursday.

Here’s hoping to see you soon!

If you’d like to learn more about WRCT, you can visit us online at www.wrct.org.